Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

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As Michigan prepares for the Sweet 16, the Wolverines understand that scoring against Kansas might not be as easy as it was against South Dakota State and VCU last week.

The No. 1 seed Jayhawks, Friday’s opponent in the NCAA tournament’s South Regional in Arlington, Texas, leads the nation by allowing opponents to shoot only 35.7%.

“They are not going to allow you to have too many open shots,” U-M coach John Beilein said on WTKA-AM (1050)’s “Michigan Insider” show today. “It’s very important. They are not going to let you execute offensively. And defensively, they’re one of the (teams) with the big center, the high-low game.”

Beilein said Kansas thrives because it can use talented center Jeff Withey as a shot blocker. Beilein noted that Withey's block total (141) makes him an “Emeka Okafor-type.” Beilein faced the former UConn star while at Big East rival West Virginia.

Combined with guards Travis Releford and Elijah Johnson, Beilein can see why the Jayhawks are so highly touted on defense.

“They’re guys like we like: 6-5, 6-6, 6-7, guys that can do so much,” Beilein said. "There’s big challenges scoring the basketball against this team."

Defense is what carried the Jayhawks in their win over North Carolina on Sunday in Kansas City.

They held the Tar Heels to just 30% shooting from the field as they rallied from their own horrific shooting in the first half.

“Our guys responded great ... certainly, they came out the second half and played with reckless abandon,” Kansas coach Bill Self said on ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike” show today.

Though it was intimidating to watch Kansas hold UNC nearly 20 points below its scoring average, Beilein understands there are countermeasures.

“If we can defend and we can run, that negates all that,” he said on WTKA. “It will go both ways.”